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The budget committee in the Alabama House of Representatives today approved a plan to split money from a $1 billion BP oil spill settlement between debt payments and road projects in Mobile and Baldwin counties. The plan would also free up $55 million in one-time funding for the Alabama Medicaid Agency, said the sponsor, Rep. Steve Clouse, R-Ozark. (Cason, 4/27)

Under the proposal, the state would securitize its scheduled payments from BP, leading to a single payment of roughly $639 million. ... The repayments could also free up $55 million in the General Fund. Clouse said that would go to help Medicaid. The program, which covers more than 20 percent of the state’s population, mainly children, says it needs $85 million more than what it is currently budgeted to maintain services. (Lyman, 4/27)

Round 2 of hearings on Medicaid operations Wednesday focused on hospitals’ involvement in the program. The main thrust of Medicaid officials' argument: Hospitals self-fund their costs, but reductions to other parts of Medicaid could drive more patients to emergency rooms and straining hospitals’ already stressed budgets. (Lyman, 4/27)

Federal officials have reversed position on a long-standing ban on paying for some inpatient psychiatric care, giving a possible boost to Kansas crisis centers. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services released a rule Monday that will place new requirements on managed care organizations administering Medicaid, such as the three insurance companies that operate KanCare, the state’s privatized $3 billion program. (Hart, 4/27)

North Carolina's improved Medicaid financial picture is one big reason why Gov. Pat McCrory can offer significant pay raises and bonuses and avoid significant budget cuts. State budget director Drew Heath gave House and Senate budget writers Wednesday more details of McCrory's $22.3 billion plan. He's making adjustments to the second year of the two-year state budget approved last fall. The budget lowers projected Medicaid spending growth by $318 million. That's because Heath says Medicaid enrollment and use of services are coming in lower than anticipated. (4/27)

Southeastern Pennsylvania will have two new companies offering managed Medicaid benefits in 2017, the Pennsylvania Department of Human Services said Wednesday. Entering the market are publicly-traded Centene Corp., of St. Louis, and UPMC For You, part of the giant University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, which dominates the managed Medicaid market in western Pennsylvania. (Brubaker, 4/27)

An appeals court will hear arguments June 7 in a long-running dispute between the state Agency for Health Care Administration and more than two-dozen hospitals about Medicaid payments for providing emergency care to undocumented immigrants. ... Hospitals are required to treat patients who show up for emergency care, but the legal dispute has focused on the extent of care for undocumented immigrants that should be covered through the Medicaid program. (4/27)